Rabbit Princess [Gaara] [3]

☾ 9 ☽

It was the middle of the day, and as Shikamaru arrived at the Hokage Office, he found Tsukiko fumbling around with Kakashi over paperwork as per usual. He had seen her yesterday when he was heading to Yakiniku Q with Ino and Chouji. The white-haired girl had been with her own two teammates, Naruto and Sakura, as they went for some Ramen.

The ring that Gaara had given Tsukiko was glinting on her thin finger, and the adularescence seemed to resemble the flutter of her long white hair. There was a calm air in the town today, flowing through the open window on the other side of the Hokage's chair.

Kakashi, himself, was busily scribbling away, surrounded as always by a mountain of documents scattered about at random as Tsukiko pointed out where and where he needed to sigh. His free hand was held up as a signal for the younger man to wait until he was finished.

"Sorry to make you wait," Kakashi said finally, slapping bundles of papers together on his desk. "Tsukiko would've had my neck," Tsukiko shook her head. "So, what did you need?"

"It's about the Land of Silence," Shikamaru replied, and he watched as Tsukiko glanced at him from the corner of her eyes briefly but she did not raise her head from compiling the papers.

"Oh, that..." Kakashi responded. "But before that, don't you have anything to say about the alliance meeting? I'm still waiting on your meeting report,"

"Didn't Tsukiko do that?" Shikamaru asked as he had not reported on the alliance meeting of the other day. Tsukiko had been the only one to head to office that night.

"Tsukiko did but I would like to hear it from you as well," Kakashi said.

"The alliance is the same as always," Shikamaru replied and Tsukiko pursed her lips. "It's staffed with capable people. There's nothing to worry about,"

"You're one of those 'capable people,' you know," Kakashi pointed out. "You really plan to go?"

"Yes," Shikamaru answered and Kakashi let out a sigh.

"Do you need to go?" Kakashi asked, and finally, Tsukiko looked up, watching them under the scrutiny of her blue eyes that resembled the sky outside.

"Sai's been captured," Shikamaru said. "And there are people there who defected from the village or who went missing in the Great War. We have to find out whether they're staying there of their own free will or if they've been captured by this Gengo,"

"Seems like you're decided," Kakashi commented. Shikamaru only nodded. "Understood,"

Closing his eyes, Kakashi shook his head from side to side before sharing a look with Tsukiko without any words exchanged and then back at Shikamaru once more. Shikamaru did not know what the two of them had conveyed between each other but it was a Teacher-Student communication that only came about after working years of missions together.

"I won't say anything else," Kakashi said. "So, who are you going to take with you?" He and Tsukiko were staring him down. "You're not planning to go alone, are you?"

"Could I be given two members of the ANBU?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh," Kakashi exhaled as he placed his elbows on his desk and rested his chin on clasped hands, his eyes serious. "You don't want Ino or Chouji?"

"The Ino-Shika-Cho combination is effective in above-board fights," Shikamaru replied. "But it is not appropriate for missions such as this,"

"Because it's an assassination," Kakashi said.

"And infiltration is a large factor in this as well," Shikamaru said. Tsukiko wondered if he was trying to avoid the word. "If possible, I want people who can hide their Chakra,"